


All I want for Christmas is You

by Madam_Violet



Series: The Vault Chronicles [11]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, The Vault (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 15:07:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13126218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madam_Violet/pseuds/Madam_Violet
Summary: It's almost Christmas, the first since he saved Missy. Of course, he has to give her the best Christmas party he can.





	All I want for Christmas is You

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas everyone !

December the 1st, 1945

  
  


The streets of Bristol were covered with snow. As the city was slowly recovering from the war, Christmas trees and candles by the window sills were already glowing in the early night.

In the staircase of St Luke University, a little man was struggling with a rather big Christmas tree. After a long hour of carrying the tree from the nearby market, taking it up the narrow stairs and causing several commotions involving angry professors and laughing groups of students, he finally made it to his employer's office.

“Here I am, sir. With the biggest tree of the market.”

His boss, known only as the Doctor, was a new teacher with gray and messy hair, and no sense of decent fashion. He was currently sat at his desk, reading a news paper. He frowned at his employee.

“Nardole, why did you carried this tree to my office ?” he asked genuinely.

The little man rolled his eyes and muttered something about a goldfish brained Time Lord.

“You asked me for a tree, sir.”

“Yes, but not for my office. Why would I want a Christmas tree in my office ?”

“Then, where do I put it ?”

“In the Vault, of course” answered the Doctor with an annoyed frown, as if it was the most evident statement in the world.

Nardole made a disapproving tut.

“You mean, it's for… her. I doubt she cares about Christmas anyway.”

“Don't be silly, Missy loves those kind of things. Take that tree down, I'll fetch some decoration in the TARDIS Christmas decoration storage.”

“You have a… anyway, why am I not even surprised ?”

Nardole disappeared with the tree and a soppy smile took over the Doctor's natural grumpy frown. His first Christmas on Earth since Darillium. Thinking about River gave him a pang in the stomach, but he knew somewhat her spirit was still with him. This year had been a new beginning with new friends. Well, not exactly new friends. He knew Nardole for a few years and Missy was the only person he could call a childhood friend. Since she was currently under his protection, or more under his custody as he had made an oath to be his jailor for a thousand years, it was his job to give her the best holidays. He already had a long list of presents for this years and the years to come.

  
  


Missy was reading a mildly entertaining sci-fi book, taking occasional sips in a lukewarm cup of tea. With the seasonal settings of the Vault's artificial light and heating, the windows were already dark and a few space heaters added warmth to the slightly colder place. Feeling the Doctor approaching, she hoped he had some of this yummy hot chocolate with marshmallows. Not really period accurate, but she was sure he had stock of them in his TARDIS.

When the intercom buzzed, Missy leaped into the containment field. It had only been a few months since she was there, but she already knew the drill. Being in this blueish cage wasn't a big inconvenience. Contrariwise, she found the whole aesthetic quite pleasing.

She was still perfecting her indolent and uninterested posture when the door opened and the egg one entered, half hidden under a rather large coniferous tree. Behind him, the Doctor was carrying a box overflowing with trinkets. She rose an eyebrow and got on her feet, unable to hide her amusement.

“Now you want to use my Vault as a storage for your Christmassy rubbish ?” she asked with all the distaste she could.

“Don't be silly” he chided gently, “today is December the first. I'm bringing all of this for you, to decorate your room and make it a little bit happier.”

Missy bit her lower lip, unable to find a witty answer. She felt strangely touched by the attention.

“You mean, even if I'm sectioned for the next thousand years in my own tomb I'm still allowed to celebrate a petty human tradition ? How generous of you, sir.”

“Don't be like this” the Doctor answered gently but firmly, “it's good for you to have time markers. And all those ornament will make your home so much more lively for the winter shortest days. Why do you think humans decided to celebrate Christmas in winter ?”

Missy winced at the use of the word _home_ and the Doctor caught her expression with a sorry smile. She didn't exactly hate this place. In a strict pragmatic point of view, it was a rather nice and comfortable room. But it was still a prison cell and the way the Doctor put things, with all his attempts for domesticity just felt like obnoxious sugar coating. She could endure a lot of things, but being pitied and patronized weren't part of them.

“Look, we'll install it there, right ? This corner is all dark and gloomy.” said the egg, while setting the tree in the far corner at the right of the large doors.

“Do you want us to decorate it together ?” asked the Doctor with a dopey smile.

“Sir, may I remind you she's behind a secured force field and she'll stay in there until she's alone in that Vault ?'

“Stupid me !” The Doctor exclaimed, winking in Missy's direction. She rolled her eyes in answer.

The Doctor gave her a few instructions about the self powered electric garlands and the artificial snow sprays for the windows. He also added she would only get one Advent calendar so she had to use it wisely. When he was done with Missy's affected lack of interest, preferring glancing at her nails or reading the cheap sci-fi book with a complete indifference, he finally left followed by Nardole.

  
  


“I told you, sir. She couldn't care less. It's a quite a waste to put such a pretty Christmas tree in a basement room with no one to enjoy it.”

“Don't say things like that. I'm sure she was pleased, and Missy's contentment matters too.”

Nardole shrugged, following the Doctor to his office.

“Do you have any plans for Christmas anyway ?”

“There's a Christmas party at the university. It could be a good way to know my colleagues. And after that I'll go visit Missy and brings her her presents.”

“I'm not quite sure she's on the good kids list but I guess she has three weeks to redeem herself.”

  
  


In the Vault, Missy leaped out of the containment field as soon as her visitors were gone. She wasn’t really interested in all those human nonsenses, but the perspective of something new in her monotonous life was rather exciting. She opened the main big box and found several glowing garlands equipped with small long lasting batteries, since Missy didn’t have any electric outlet in her room for obvious security reasons. She took them out and began playing around with them, a faint smile on her perfectly red lips. Rummaging further through the box, she found a little music box shaped as a carousel. She wound it up and it began playing some Christmas song Missy couldn’t remember the title. It was pretty, however. She began to sing a wordless tune, dancing around with the garlands around her arms. 

The Doctor opened the doors completely unheard and was struck by the sight offered to his eyes : Missy, dancing on a music box rendition of Carroll of the Bells, colored lights twirling on her arms. She was stunningly beautiful, all pale skin, precise make up and elaborate hairstyle. For a few privileged seconds, he witnessed an untainted moment of Missy’s life when she wasn’t putting a show.

Suddenly, she caught his sight and froze, mortified, before bursting into a manic laughter. The Doctor laughed too, and soon they exchanged an amused look. He hadn’t seen Missy playful like this since he took her in the Vault. No words were needed, everything was in her twinkling eyes. She hesitantly made her way to the containment field and it pained the Doctor a little to see her subdued like this by her new routine.

“Do you want me to help you decorate your Christmas tree ?”

Missy nodded, biting her lower lip. He smiled at her softly and handed her a red plastic ball. She made her way to the tree and hung it to a branch. Ball after ball, garland after garland, they decorated the full tree in a companionable silence. It was the first time Missy was allowed out of the containment field, and both were walking on eggshells. It was night and the windows were dark. It was the perfect moment to spray fake snow using a stencil. It was a fun thing to do together, and Missy held the cardboard carefully while the Doctor sprayed. He shouldn't have left her with aerosols in a first place. Nardole had establish a precise list of forbidden item, and the Doctor knew cheating with the rules would be dangerous and immature.

Soon, the Vault was entirely decorated, and Missy smiled faintly, as if she was enjoying herself. The Doctor and her hadn't exchanged any words and yet they could tell how the other one felt.

“Do you want something to drink ?” the Doctor asked. “Hot chocolate ? Cinnamon tea ?”

“I want some chocolate, please.”

She was always polite and well mannered. When the Doctor made his way to the door, Missy stepped into the containment field and let him close the panels. Glancing around herself, she felt slightly satisfied. It wasn't really the kitsch ornaments that made her happy, but the fact the Doctor had helped her. He had let her out of the secure cage and share a little bit of intimacy with her. Like before, when they were still friends, before she messed up. For an hour, she hadn't felt like a caged animal but like an actual person. She scolded herself for thinking like that. Since when an attempt to take power on her was successful ? She was the Master, she had been the Master in another life, even in a cage she was leading the game.

  
  


A few days later, the Doctor and Missy were sitting together on separated sides of the force field. They both had cinnamon tea and Missy was reading another cheap sci-fi book. The doctor had bought her some classics he had judged valuable. Amongst them, a Dickens collection of short stories compiled in one big volume.

“I met him, you know. Good old Charlie. Did you know he almost wrote a story about me and a little inter dimensional problem we solved together ?”

“I guess you have nothing to do with this whole time traveling nonsense he called his Christmas Carroll ?”

The Doctor smiled. He had, indeed, been the spirit of Christmas for a rich industrial, but it was in a far future, on another planet. He doubt this might have caused a boot trap paradox.

“What did you read this week, Missy ?” he asked with a very professional voice.

“A book about clones used as spare pieces for humans. And another one about a colony planet confronted to a civil war.”

“Did you like those books ?”

She smirked.

“Not bad. They contained rather smart ideas I could adapt to the reality of this world one day or another.”

The Doctor scoffed. He knew she was joking, but this kind of humour wasn't acceptable.

“Missy...” he warned.

“Sorry, just kidding. They were cheesy stories. But I liked them because they made me think of you and I in the good old times.”

The Doctor smiled. Of course it wasn't the expected answer, but they both knew, and they still had a thousand years of cheap sci-fi books to discuss. So they stayed silent a moment, simply enjoying each others company. Missy seemed fine. Nardole had noticed how her outer appearance reflected her state of mind. The doctor, in this body at least, wasn't a good observer of those kind of things. He was himself happy with old flannel pants, a random band tee shirt and a loose hoodie. Nardole often had to scold him to make him dress properly, and if possible period accurate. Missy was like his own older regenerations and had a fixation on one particular style. She was dressed as Mary Poppins all day every day, with the corset, the intricate up do and the precise make up. However, the cyborg had noticed she tended to wear more flashy colors and outrageous hair style when she was stressed out. It wasn't an exact science, of course, but it was pretty accurate. Today, she looked relaxed, with pale blue eye shadow and an elegant up do that reminded him of Victorian times.

“You seem rather fine today. How have you been feeling lately ?”

“Pretty well, Doctor. Thanks for asking me.”

There was a slight bitterness in Missy's voice, but sarcasm proved she felt self conscious enough. It was probably a good sign.

“Christmas is near, did you think about something you might want ?”

Missy bit her lower lip. The Doctor could tel by her sole expression she was refraining herself to answer something purposely stupid.

“It's probably a lot to ask, but I'd be happy if you came here and spent the night with me.”

The Doctor smiled.

“Of course, it's not stupid. I wanted to spend Christmas with you anyway. I'll come a little bit late, because I have some social gathering I cannot escape. But as soon as I am free, I'll be there with you.”

“Thank you.”

In her mouth those words meant a lot and the Doctor was proud of her. She was far from being good, but she was on her way.

  
  


  
  


The Christmas cocktail at the university was long and boring. How could humans be so boring ? It was almost as boring as an assembly in the Capitol in a peaceful time. Now he almost empathized with Rassilon for trying to push Gallifrey back into a new war !

When the Dean finished is oh-so-interesting speech, the Doctor excused himself and claimed family projects. He was not the only one to have a family, so the greetings were quick. After a quick rush to his office to fetch Missy's presents, he ran to the basement. Nardole was here, guarding the doors, Christmas music escaping the Vault.

“Here he is, Miss” he said joyfully at the sight of the Doctor.

“Sorry for the time. Well, it's maybe not that late, but for me this cocktail lasted a good hundred of years.”

“Aww, poor Doctor, I feel bad for you” purred a low feminine voice from behind the doors.

The Doctor dismissed Nardole waving his hand.

“Thanks for looking after her, now you're free to do whatever you want.”

“You're welcome, sir. If you need anything, just text me.”

  
  


Missy was patiently sitting in the containment field. Her hair and make up perfect as usually, except for a few trinkets pinned here and there. Well, the Doctor guessed they didn't arrived here by accident and it was probably Missy's sense of style.

“You've got a stuff on your hair” he wanted to be sure, just in case.

“Said the man who used to wear a celery on his vest, a fez on his head and stupid sunglasses inside.”

“You have a point.”

She burst in laughter. Her eyes were twinkling and the Doctor suspected Nardole to have given her a glass of wine with her Christmas dinner.

“Was the cocktail so boring you looked forward locking yourself up with a madwoman ?” she joked with an undisguised bitterness.

“Don't be like that, Missy. You know I'm far better here with you.”

Missy smiled smuggly. She got up on her feet and hovered at the edge of the force field. The Doctor turned it off and she leapt down from the little stage. She came closer, too close for him to be comfortable. He cleared his throat and moved to the tea table were he poured some hot chocolate in a cup. Missy sat by the heater, her cup in hand.

“Is it snowy outside ?”

“Yes, a lot of snow. It's cold, wet and really tedious. You don't have to worry about the cold and the snow.”

“Lucky me !”

“Maybe you want to open your presents now.”

A wide smiles appeared on Missy's lips. She could try how much as she want to look smug and regal, she can't hide forever her childishness. It's probably why the Doctor liked being around her so much.

He handed her a first wrapped present. She looked at the colorful paper and the pretty ribbon.

“Not really period accurate, isn't it ?” she teases.

“Shh, don't tell Nardole.”

She giggled and ripped the paper. Make up, several books and a pretty hairclip. Little presents, nothing out of the ordinary. But she could see the attention behind all those gifts and it was strangely pleasing her. The Doctor knew how to make a girl feel special.

“I don't have anything for you, Doctor.”

“You don't have to give me anything, you know.”

“Maybe I have, after all...”

She made a few steps forward, until her face was a few inches away from the Doctor's. He looked at her with wide, confused eyes, like a grumpy owl facing a curious cat. Lifting herself on tiptoe, she suddenly kissed him. He froze for a nanosecond, before kissing her back.

Next year, he would take mistletoe.

  
  


  
  


 


End file.
